Like A Bomb
by Freelancer21
Summary: What happens after Kate goes back to her cage. ep 3.04


Like a Bomb

The title is stolen from an Oasis song. You can find it on their latest album 'Don't believe the truth".

"Live together, die alone," she declared coldly as she landed inside her cage.

Stealing a glance at Sawyer, she saw him look down and sigh just as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. Despite her irritation, Kate couldn't help but be heartbroken. She knew this man was hurt inside and out. But didn't he trust her by now? After all they had been through, why couldn't he open up to her? Quit those silly games while they could? The Others could decide to separate them for good, or kill them, at any moment, she was painfully aware of it.

It was Kate's turn to sigh. The man just couldn't admit the truth: their connection was as deep as it could be between two people.

She hadn't been lying earlier when she had told Pickett she loved Sawyer, but realising that he just couldn't be honest with her, that he was still pushing her away, she just had to hurt him. Or to protect herself, she couldn't decide. She just wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of knowing he was hurting her.

Still overwhelmed with the intensity of the last few minutes, Kate retreated to the back of her cage and sat, her arms wrapped around her legs. In the other cage, Sawyer dropped heavily in a corner and stayed there, unmoving. Upset with the sight of him, covered with dirt and blood, Kate closed her eyes. She, the queen of emotional escaping, could never have run away without him. What was the point of leaving if it was to be separated from him? She was passed the stage where she could deny her feelings for him any longer. She needed him. Period. Why couldn't he do the same? Especially now that all they had were each other?

A million questions kept popping inside her head. What had they done to him that was so terrible he'd refuse to follow her? She just couldn't think of anything that would scare him. Well, he was scared of his feelings for her, but what did it have to do with… Kate froze. It suddenly dawned on her that they could have threatened to hurt her. Maybe do to her the same thing they had done to him? Her heart sank at the thought and she reopened her eyes. Maybe he was trying to protect her? Letting himself get hurt to save her?

In a flash, she made her decision. Maybe he couldn't tell her about what they had done or said, but she could let him know she understood and appreciated everything he was doing for her.

Jumping on her feet, Kate started to climb the fence.

His whole body ached. This had to be the worse day of his life… well, of his adult life. And he had really bad ones before, that was for sure, he thought with a trace amusement. But while one could have thought being repeatedly hit and being implanted a pacemaker was the cause of his misery, it wasn't the case.

The worst part of it was to have to lie to her. For once in his life, he wished with everything he got, heart and soul, that he could have been honest with her. He snorted. Yep, the professional liar he was desperately wanted to be honest.

That island was making him totally nuts.

Those bastards. Next time he was in presence of that little rat they called Ben, he was going to punch him so hard his head was going to spin. They could hurt him as much as they wanted after that, he just didn't care.

Sawyer hated the guy. Because of him, he'd had to keep Kate at arms length at what could have been their last moment together. When she'd ask why he hadn't fought back, all he had wanted was to tell her that he was doing this to protect her. Because he loved her.

Instead, he'd hurt her and she had believed he didn't trust her enough to be honest with her. And it had upset her enough to cause her to tell him she had lied to Pickett. That she didn't love him.

While he knew it had only been a defence mechanism, it still hurt like hell. Would he ever get to tell her how he felt about her? Let her know before it was too late?

Geez, he was turning into a sap.

But he didn't care.

Looking over at Kate's cage, he couldn't see her at first. Frantically, his eyes searched for her and, when he was about to call for her, he noticed her on the top of the cage.

His heart sank. She had changed her mind! She was leaving… Sawyer tried to convince himself that this was what he wanted, but he just couldn't. As had happened earlier, tears flooded his eyes. Without her here, it just wasn't worth it. They might as well kill him.

Kate landed gracefully on the ground outside her cage and turned around. Their eyes met as she walked towards him.

"So you finally heard the voice of reason, huh?" he said, trying to sound detached but failing miserably.

"Yes, I did," she confirmed, a strange smile on her face. What, was she going to punch him before running away?

Sawyer was desperate, torn between his need for her and his desire for her to be safe. Now, now was the time to tell her how he felt. There wasn't going to be another opportunity.

As she stood inches from him, Sawyer opened his mouth to speak, but Kate put a finger on his lips.

"Just shut up, James."

He looked at her uncertainly for a second before she cupped his face with her delicate hands. He could feel her warm breath of his face and felt his pulse quicken. Was she going to kiss him? Was it going to kill him? Was her love going to be the bomb that would cause his heart to explode?

What a nice way to die, he though as she pressed a tender kiss on his lips. Lost in the moment, he placed his hands on her hips, his fingers finding the soft skin of her back. A few more slow, loving kisses ensued. Sawyer felt as though he was in heaven.

Until his heart monitor started to beep.

Kate broke their kiss, but didn't step back. Gently, she put her hand over his heart.

"They did something to your heart, didn't they?" she murmured.

"No, you did," he replied without breaking eye contact, causing Kate to smile timidly.

"Thank you for taking care of me," she simply replied after a few seconds.

Grinning widely, he said:

"You're welcome, Freckles."

In response, she gently stroked his cheek.

"Now you have to calm down. Clean up and get some rest. Tomorrow we'll figure something out."

"Okay," he whispered.

Reluctantly, they let go of each other and within a few seconds Kate was back in her cage. They spoke no more that night, afraid to spoil the perfection of their last contact.

Obediently, Sawyer washed up before curling into a corner, occasionally glancing at Kate. He had to admit, this day had turned out to be the best of his life.

Thanks to the amazing woman who had set him free.


End file.
